The Ghosts Of Miami
by Rodea McWin
Summary: Ryan is spending the weekend hunting ghosts in an old theater. During the hunt, Ryan has a personal encounter & gets a chance to explore an old murder case in a whole new way. Mixure of the movie "Somewhere in Time" and the show "Ghost Hunters". COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**the story is a mixture of the show "Ghost Hunters" and the movie "Somewhere it Time". Please let me know if you like it or if you hate it. It has not had that many hits so I have to wonder what is wrong with it. **

**Chapter 1: **

* * *

Ryan had been looking forward to his time off this weekend and wasn't afraid to hide his excitement. He was planning on getting away with an old friend of his who was planning on visiting some areas in Miami said to be haunted.

He had been interested in the idea of ghost hunting after having a personal experience back in college; which is how he met his friend. He had been studying in the library one night and had quite an experience that still creeped him out to this day. It was suggested that he talked to the local ghost hunting group that had been currently residing in one of the local dorms and it changed his outlook on the supernatural. He had participated in a few of their investigations during spring break and had enjoyed it so much that he was always willing to step in and help when asked. So when his friend called him up asking if he was free, he jumped at the chance.

After work he was going to be meeting his friend John at the hotel where his group was staying. They were then going to head to the old part of town where there was a theater that the owners claimed to be haunted. It was up to his friends group to verify this claim.

As Ryan was putting away a few things in his locker he looked at the person who had just entered the room. "Hey Natalia, I didn't know you were leaving early too".

Natalia looked in his direction and responded to his question, "Hey Ryan, I wasn't feeling very good so Horatio said I should just take off early. I think I may have caught that flu that was going around. So it looks like you're leaving early; you're not sick too are you?"

"No, I was only going to work half the day so I could start my weekend early".

"Oh, that's right. You have big plans to look for dead people. Don't you see enough of them at work?" She started to laugh at her own response, but started to cough.

"Hey, take it easy there, that cough doesn't sound good. As for my plans, we are looking for ghosts, not dead people. There should be no dead bodies where I'm going because they would have already died a while ago". He closed up his locker and gave one last look at Natalia, "I hope you're feeling better".

"Thanks Ryan. I expect a full report of your investigation on Monday".

"I think I can manage that. I'll see you next week".

* * *

Ryan walked out of the locker room and made his way to his car. He was so excited about tonight. He hadn't been on a hunt since college, but he remembered the kind of things they did. The only thing he was not looking forward to was staying up all night, but it was the most active time for the spirits.

As Ryan drove he called his friend to see if they had arrived yet. As soon as he found out they were getting settled at the hotel, he drove his car a little faster. He was glad he had thought to bring his overnight bag with him; that way he didn't have to waste any time by stopping at home.

Luckily the traffic this time of day wasn't too bad. It only took him 30 minutes to get to the hotel. Normally it would have taken him twice as long had he left when he normally got done.

As he pulled up to the hotel he was surprised by which one they picked. He remembered the group never had much money back in college so a place like this was always out of the question. He even remembered sleeping in their van on one hunt. But this place had to be at least $300.00 a night; his friend must be doing well for himself, something he would have time to discuss as they walked the dark hallways of the theater at midnight.

He entered the hotel and headed straight for the elevators. He knew which room the guys were staying in and planned on just crashing on the floor with them. Once in the elevator he pressed the 8 button and waited while the elevator went up.

He exited the elevator and had no trouble finding the room. He could hear quite a commotion coming from one of the rooms down to the left and he knew exactly who was making the ruckus.

He was feeling a little cocky as he walked toward to room so he decided to have some fun with it, "Hey, we have received a few complaints about all the noise your making. If you don't stop I'll have to take you downtown".

xx

John opened the door and was about to respond to the complaint when he saw who was standing there, "Hey buddy, how ya doing?" He was not one for a simple hand shake and pulled Ryan into a big hug.

As soon as Ryan could get away from the rather tight embrace he took a good look at his friend, "Hey John, it's good to see you".

"Same here", he put his hand on Ryan's back as he led him into the room, "Hey everybody, this is Ryan".

As the 4 people in the room turned Ryan waved his hand and said, "Hi guys".

After everyone said their hello, John ushered him over to the table. "So, we are almost ready to get going. I thought we could use the daylight to get set up and it would also give us time to talk to the owners. When were done we plan on coming back here for a few hours of sleep and then going back for another night before sitting down to see what we found. It's going to be just like old times; except we have much cooler equipment this time".

Ryan could see that when he looked at some of the things on the table, "Yeah, this stuff looks pretty impressive".

Ryan spent the rest of his time in the hotel getting familiar with the equipment. Before long they were done loading up their 2 vans and were on their way to the theater. Ryan rode in the van John was driving and used this time to catch up on a few things.

* * *

Soon they were pulling up to the building for a night of adventure; or at least they hope it would be adventurous. No one ever knew what they would find on any investigation. But Ryan had a good feeling that the spirits would show up. After all it was a Friday night in downtown Miami where the full moon was showing brightly. The combination of those 3 things always brought the strange and unusual things to the surface.

xxxxx


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: **

* * *

Ryan got out of the van and helped unload the truck. He had never been to this theater before but was surprised that he had never noticed it either. It was a large building with very impressive architectural details. If he was correct this building was probably built in the late 1800's.

As they entered the building John had asked him to join them when they took the tour of the place. Ryan was glad to be part of the tour since he would get to hear some of the history of the place first hand.

They were greeted by an older gentleman in the lobby. "Hello, my name is Weston Parker; and from the looks of it you must be John Logan". He offered his hand for a handshake.

John grabbed the older man's hand and shook it, "Yes, I'm John and this is a few of the guys that will be conducting the investigation with me. It's really nice to meet you Mr. Parker".

Weston softly clapped his hands together as he said, "Please, call me Weston. So, where would you like to start?"

"Well, this is your place so I think we'll just follow your lead".

"Ok, well let's see, this place was built in 1892 but wasn't always a theater. I know it was used once as a temporary shelter with people who had tuberculosis".

As Weston led the way he brought the group to some rooms at the back of the theater, "Well, let's see this is where the actors practice their lines and get ready for a show. There are several rooms back here to accommodate a variety of actors, but there is one room in particular I wanted to show you". He led them into a small room that looked like it was someone's dressing room. "This is an extra dressing room that we use if needed, but most people who end up here don't stay long. They say there is a feeling of being watched all the time and that there stuff disappears or gets moved around".

"Has anyone ever seen anything in here?"

"A few people have claimed to have seen something appear in the mirror, but as soon as they turn around whatever it was they thought they saw is gone".

"How about voices, has anyone ever heard anything?"

"Not that I know of, but this room has a reputation now, so we don't usually get too many people who are willing to stay in here".

"Do you have any idea of what it could be?"

"I'm not sure, but I know these rooms were used to house some of the people who had tuberculosis. There were quite a few people who died here so it could be one of them".

John turned to one of his guys, "Bill, I think we should get a camera set up in here and it would be a great place to do some EVP's".

Bill took some notes before responding, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I'll take care of it".

"Great", he looked toward their host, "Well, where too next Weston?"

"I think we should head down to the lower floor directly below the stage". Weston led the group back out of the room and down a short hallway before reaching a set of stairs, "Please be careful on these steps, we have to get one of them repaired so please just hang on the railings".

Each one of them had no trouble finding the broken step, but luckily it wasn't a problem since they were told to hold the railing.

"So Weston; is there another way down here".

"Yes John, there is an elevator and another set of stairs that are much safer, but I thought taking the back stairs would be quicker since they were closer".

"Good, I was just thinking about how to get our equipment down here".

Weston led the group to a large open area, "this is where the orchestra usually sits, and it is also used to house larger props, that when needed, can be lifted onto the stage. We have had several claims of a man being seen walking around here carrying a violin".

"What's so strange about that, this is where people with instruments would be hanging out?"

"I thought that as well, but I was always told the man was wearing a suit that was straight out of the late forties and when anyone tried to talk to him he would disappear right through the wall. I thought it was all talk, but one night when I was down here getting the place set up I saw him".

John found this interesting, "So, do you have any idea who this man might be?"

"I have a theory after doing a little bit of research. There was an older gentleman whose name I think was Richard and he used to work here in the forties up until his death. It was said he had a heart attack while he was doing his solo piece for a play that was going on upstairs".

"Wow, that's some good history". John once again turned to Bill, "we should probably get a camera set up down here as well".

As Bill wrote down more information, John turned back to Weston, "So are there anymore areas of interest?"

"Yes, there is one more place". Weston led them to another set of stairs at the opposite end of the room. They went up one flight, "Now, here is where our regular actors have their dressing rooms. It's been this way all the way back to the thirties. There have been claims of a woman screaming and running through the hall toward the stage. When people have tried to respond to her, she disappears. It's said she is the ghost of a murdered actress; Lily Van Walken. She was quite the actress in her days".

This story intrigued Ryan enough for him to ask a question, "Do you have any more information on how she was murdered?"

"All I know is that she was said to have been stabbed and then the body was burned in the back alley. It sounded like a gruesome murder. From what I had been told by someone, they had a suspect, but no one was ever convicted of her murder, but some guessed it was a mob hit".

"A mob hit, was she on the wrong side of the law?"

"No, but they did own this place for awhile back in the late thirties and into the mid forties. Some thought she refused to satisfy them so they had her killed. But this is about all I know. I always thought about doing a more intensive search on the history of this place, but the theater has kept me too busy".

John was impressed, there was certainly more to look at then he had originally thought, "Well, I think we'll start getting set up then. This place will certainly keep us busy tonight".

"Well, good luck with your investigation. The place is all yours for the next two days, but we do have a new play starting here on Monday so you'll need to have everything out by then".

"I think we can manage that Mr. Parker".

* * *

The next few hours were used to set up cameras and digital recorders in the areas of interest. John had brought his other 4 people up to speed and set up a schedule for everyone to follow. It was decided to have 3 groups of two, with Ryan joining John's group.

Ryan's excitement grew like the advancing darkness outside. He had not done this in a while, but the time to prowl the hallways was almost here. He really hoped he had some kind of supernatural encounter tonight. He remembered the last gig he was on with John. It had been filled with several unexplained experiences that he could never figure out, but John told him they sounded genuine.

As the groups went off to where they were assigned, John, Ryan and Bill made their way to the first room that Weston had showed them.

"So Ryan, is this bringing some good memories back?"

"Yeah John it is. I feel a little rusty, but I'm psyched about the idea of seeing a ghost. That's one thing I have yet to experience. So far I have only experienced sounds and being touched, but seeing a real ghost would make all of this so real".

"Well let's get started then". John led the two guys into the one room where they proceeded to do some EVP for the next 20 minutes. A few times they thought they had heard something but they soon grew tired and decided to move on to the next area.

They were headed back to the lobby in order to search the top balcony area when John stopped, "Hey, did one of you guys remember to pick up the portable EMF meter".

Ryan looked at the gear he was holding and said, "No, sorry I don't have it". He looked at Bill and saw that he didn't have it either". "Do you want me to go back and get it?"

John didn't want to waste any time with their investigation so he took Ryan up on his offer, "Sure, sounds good. You can meet us up in the balcony".

Ryan left John and Bill and made his way to the back of the theater. It didn't take long to find the EMF meter; which meant if he hurried he could make it back to John and continue their search.

As he made his way toward the front he heard a noise coming from behind him. He turned around, "Hello, is one of the groups back there, it's Ryan".

When he didn't hear anyone respond he assumed the noise was nothing, but when he heard it again he knew it was something. He made his way to the back area and kept looking for the source, "Hey is anyone back here".

As the noise resounded in Ryan's ear again he could tell it was coming from the stairwell leading down to the orchestra pit. He walked over; shining his light down the steps, "Hey, is anyone down there?"

As he stood there listening, he again heard the noise, but this time it was at the bottom of the steps. His curiosity was getting the better of him as he started to descend the steps. He knew he wasn't supposed to be going at this alone (this was always one of Johns rules), but he didn't want to lose whatever he was chasing. As the sound came again he quicken his pace a little, but he forgot something. As he was holding the flashlight looked down toward the bottom of the stairs, his foot landed on the broken step. Since he was not holding onto the railing as Weston had told them to do, he slipped and went tumbling down to the bottom. He didn't remember hitting the bottom as he fell unconscious during his fall.

* * *

Ryan could feel someone shaking his shoulder, but his head hurt too much for him to respond. As the shaking persisted he finally decided to open his eyes if only to tell whoever it was to stop it.

He slowly opened his eyes, but instead of seeing one of the guys on John's team, he saw a very beautiful woman with a worried look in her eyes staring down at him.

"Are you alright, it looks like you took a nasty tumble down the stairs?"

Ryan stared at the woman, not sure who she was or where she had come from. He sat up and leaned against the wall. He rubbed his head as he continued to stare at her.

As the pain in his head started to lessen and his senses starting returning he wanted to find out who she was, "What's your name?"

"My name is Lily Van Walken, and who are you, I've never seen you here before".

Ryan knew that name, and as he searched his memory his mouth fell open as it he realized who she was.

xxxxx


	3. Chapter 3

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Ryan kept staring at Lily and couldn't believe his luck. He was hoping to see a ghost tonight, but here he was having a conversation with one, but how was that possible. He didn't want to take his eyes off of her for fear of her disappearing, but he wanted to get off the floor. As he used the wall behind him to stand up he suddenly got a little dizzy and started to sway toward the steps. He never made it as he felt a hand tug on his arm preventing him from falling.

"You should probably take it easy; it looks like you have a pretty nasty bump on your head. I think you should sit on the step until you're ready". She helped him sit down.

As Ryan felt the bump on his head he suddenly realized that he was not only talking to a ghost, but he had been touched by one as well. He was starting to get confused, "How can this be? How can I be talking to you like you're a real person and actually be touching you like a real person?"

It was Lily's turn to look confused, "you must have hit your head harder than I thought".

"No, my head is fine. I was just wondering how I could be talking to a ghost". He thought for a second and then thought he had it figured out, "Oh, wait, maybe you don't realize your dead, that might be why you're acting like this".

"What are you talking about, I'm not dead. I think we should have our doctor look at you. I have a few minutes before my practice starts so why don't we get you up and I'll take you to him". She raised her hand and offered to help him up.

Ryan wasn't sure what to do. He had never met a ghost before, let alone a ghost who didn't realize they were dead. He didn't want to scare her away so he decided to play along. He reached out and grabbed her hand. He was surprised at how warm and soft it felt. Is this what a ghost was supposed to feel like?

Once Ryan was up, Lily put her arm around his shoulders, "there that has to feel better. Now our doctor is just upstairs, but I think we should use the other steps".

Ryan allowed himself to be lead in the opposite direction. He just hoped when he saw his friend John that she was still here. He didn't know if they would believe him about any of this if all he had was a story. Having the actual ghost would be much more convincing.

As they walked he didn't say anything. He was still amazed at his luck. He was trying to keep his eye on here, but something odd suddenly caught his eye. As they passed the area he was told to be the orchestra pit, he was surprised as what he saw. Everything before him was different and he wondered when this had happened. There were chairs all lined up, but they were not the same ones he had seen on his tour only a few hours earlier. The lighting was also different as well as the floor. Could he have been this unobservant before that he didn't remember this room correctly. It was the only explanation he had.

As Lily led him to the other set of stairs they were almost run over by someone running down the stairs. Lily moved Ryan out of the way to prevent a collision. She gave the young man who had come barreling down the stairs a stern look, "Bradford, watch where you're going, you almost knocked this poor man over".

Bradford stopped in his tracks and turned to address Lily, "I'm sorry Lily, but the old man will have me cleaning up the stage again if I don't get it ready for tonight's performance".

Lily gave him a smile as she said, "Ok, well you better get moving". She looked at Ryan before proceeding up the stairs and saw that he had lost some color in his face, "Are you alright, you don't look so good right now".

Ryan wasn't sure what was going on, but things were suddenly not adding up. Who was this Bradford guy; was he another ghost. "Is Bradford a ghost too? I need to find my friend John and soon. He is never going to believe any of this".

"Why do you think were ghosts? Is John someone I should have our errand boy go and get for you".

"You're errand boy, is he another ghost?" This whole situation was starting to make him nervous. He moved away from Lily and found his way to one of the chairs in the room. At this point he didn't care if Lily disappeared when he took his eyes off of here. There was something odd about this whole encounter and he was ready for it to end.

Lily walked over and sat next to him, "Why don't you tell me your name, I just realized I never asked you".

"It's Ryan".

"That's a nice name. So tell me Ryan, why were you coming down those back steps and why do you think we are all ghosts?" She wanted to help him, but she was just as confused as he was.

"Because, I was told you died over 70 years ago".

"What are you talking about? I wasn't even born then. I'm only 24 and I can assure you that I am very much alive. Maybe we better get you to the doctor so he can check you out".

"No, you died over 70 years ago, it's the year 2010 and the only way I could be talking to you is if you were a ghost. I came here to investigate some of the claims of a haunting". He wasn't so sure of anything anymore and was starting to feel numb. He was talking to a ghost, wasn't he?

"It's 1939 and I think this is enough talk about ghosts. I think you're confused after that bump on your head and I need to get you to the doctor".

Ryan did as he was told and got up and followed Lily up the stairs. When he got up to the top of the stairs the room he entered was nothing like he remembered. Everything was different; the furniture looked like it was from a different era and the floor looked like it was made of a rich maple and not the drab overused carpet he remembered. And the people he saw, where did they come from. This was too much for him to handle all at once and he felt the room suddenly start to spin. This time there was nothing preventing him from falling to the ground.

-

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	4. Chapter 4

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Ryan opened his eyes. He could tell that he was lying down on a couch but exactly where he was he didn't know. The room was dark, with only a small amount of light shining through a crack in the door. He sat up but had to wait a few seconds for the dizziness he was feeling to go away. As he looked toward the door again he saw the light that had been shining through suddenly get blocked by something. As the door slowly opened he could see the silhouette of a person. He assumed it was John since he couldn't think of whom else it could be, "hey John, you'll never guess the dream I just had".

"If you want us to find this John for you, you'll need to tell us a little more about him".

When Ryan heard the voice of a woman he froze. It's a good thing the lights were not on because whoever it was would have seen a shocked look on his face. Was he still dreaming or was he really still talking to the ghost of Lily Van Walken. "Who are you?"

"My name is Lily Van Walken, but I have already told you that". As she finished her sentence the room was suddenly bathed in a soft glow as she turned on one of the lamps in the room.

Ryan looked at the woman who had provided the light and saw it was the same person he had talked to before. "Am I dreaming all of this? I don't know how I could be sitting here talking to you".

Lily came and sat down next to Ryan, "Why do you keep asking that. Why do you think I am dead and that you're dreaming? You were saying some things in your sleep about this, but I just don't understand it. The doctor said your bump on your head wasn't that bad so I don't if this is a result of your injury or if you always this confused".

Ryan just kept looking at Lily. "You said earlier that this was 1939, but how is that possible. I must be dreaming this whole thing up; it has to be that. Maybe if I just close my eyes and tell myself to wake up". Ryan immediately closed his eyes and leaned back into the couch to try, but he soon felt Lily's warm hand touching his.

"You can't be dreaming because you are right here in this room with me".

Ryan opened his eyes to confirm she was still there, "but you can't be here with me, this is 2010 and I came here to study some claims of ghosts". He stood up as he continued, "Look I just need to find my friend John and maybe he can help understand what is going on. I don't mean to be rude, but I really need to go".

Lily stood up before responding, "I don't know if you should leave just yet. I told the doctor that I would let him know when you were awake. He wanted to check on you before you left. Based on what you keep saying, you may want him to look at you".

"No, I need to go. Thank you for everything". Ryan made his way to the door and opened it. When he stepped out he once again saw a portion of the theater that looked different from his earlier tour. He looked around and found the way out. Maybe once he got outside everything would go back to normal.

Lily wasn't sure she should just let him go so she decided to follow him. As she watched him leave she could tell that he knew his way around the place, but she still had not clue as to who he was and what he was doing here.

Ryan made his way to the front door and opened it, but instead of seeing the cramped little parking area where they had parked their van he saw it the sun shining down on a very wide open space. The buildings that he knew to be next to the theater were no longer there and the cars that he did see were like nothing he had seen before; except in pictures. He refused to move any further than the door. None of this was making sense. He turned back toward the inside of theater to see that Lily was standing behind him, "What is going on?"

Lily took his arm and pulled him inside, "I'm not sure what you mean, but I insist you come back inside with me. I can't just let you leave in this kind of state. Let the doctor look at you again, Ok".

Ryan followed Lily as she led him back to the room they just left. Then she excused herself to go and find the doctor.

Ryan sat back down on the couch and tried to figure out what was going on. If he was still dreaming then why couldn't he wake up? Was his trip down the stairs worst then he thought and was he now lying unconscious somewhere while his mind played tricks on him? He knew it was useless to try and come up with an explanation. He didn't have a clue as to where and start. Until he woke up there was nothing he could do about any of this. All he could do was go along with it.

-

When Lily came back it was about 10 minutes later. She was accompanied by an older gentleman who reminded Ryan of the kind of doctors he saw on TV that were from the thirties.

Lily introduced the doctor to Ryan, "Ryan, this is Doctor Jones".

The doctor took a few things out of his bag and walked over to Ryan, "Ok, so can you tell me your name and what year it is?"

"My name is Ryan Wolfe and it is the year 2010".

"Interesting, why do you think you're in the future?"

Ryan was getting frustrated, "I don't think I'm in the future, I know it's the year 2010".

The doctor continued his evaluation and when he was done he sat down next to Ryan, "Where do you live? Is there someone I can contact for you?"

"No, there is no one you can contact. I just need to find my friend John".

"Do you live around here?"

"I don't live that far from here, I can find my way home".

"Well I don't think you should be left alone".

Lily stepped in at this point, "He's not alone Dr. Jones. I will take personal responsibility for his welfare and make sure he gets back home".

The doctor looked at Lily and was hesitant to agree, but he could tell by the look on her face that he wouldn't win this battle, "Ok Lily, but I want you to come and get me immediately if his condition changes".

"I promise Dr. Jones".

The doctor put his things away and said his goodbyes.

Soon it was just Lily and Ryan in the room. "So Ryan, do you really have a home to go to?"

Ryan didn't know what to think at this point. "I don't know anymore. I have a home but I don't know if it is just a short drive from here or if it hasn't even been built yet. So I guess the answer is no, I don't have a home to go to".

Lily felt sorry for him. She couldn't even begin to understand what was going on, but since she was the one who found him, she felt responsible for him. "Well, if you want we have a room in the back you can stay in until you feel better".

"That would be great Lily. Maybe I just need some more time and everything will be back to normal".

-

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	5. Chapter 5

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Ryan had been dealing with his new home for two days now and was starting to get frustrated that nothing had seemed to change. He had been hoping that he would finally wake up and find out that this was all a dream, but no such luck. He spent countless hours speculating what had happened to him that put him in this state of mind; the only thing that made sense was that he was in a coma. He was probably living in this particular dream because the last real thing he had been doing was searching for ghosts; one of which went by the name of Lily Van Walken.

He had tried to get Lily to understand that he was not really living any of this and that he was only dreaming, but she just attributed his odd behavior to the bump on his head. She was very attentive to his needs and he had to admit he was enjoying it. He didn't know how long he would be stuck in this dream state, but he figured he might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

Today he was going to go on a tour of the city with Lily. For some reason she thought that it would help him figure out what was real and what was only in his mind. She thought that he was somehow trying to alter his life by changing part of it. She couldn't figure out why he would want anyone to believe he was from a time yet to come, but she thought that until he faced whatever he was trying to hide, he was never going to get better. The only flaw in her theory was the way he was dressed when she found him. She had no explanation for his clothes, but thought that maybe it was the newest fade from wherever he was from.

-

Lily found Ryan sitting in the back of the theater and was happy to see he had changed into some of the clothes she had brought for him, "Well, don't you look nice Mr. Wolfe. Are you ready for our walk?"

Ryan looked up and smiled at Lily, "I'm ready; so where are you going to take me today?"

"I thought we would walk around town and maybe ride some bikes over to the beach. It's such a beautiful day and it's about time you got outside".

Ryan hadn't been outside since he first tried to leave. He wasn't able to explain why he didn't want to go out, but he thought it might make this world all too real. But after being here for a few days he gave up on that notion and knew he had to see what was out there. He grabbed his sweater and stood up, "well, lead the way then?"

Once they were outside Lily brought out her small umbrella and opened it up. It was sunny out and she didn't want to burn her delicate skin. As they walked she hooked her arm around Ryan's arm.

As Ryan felt her touch his arm he took a good look at her and realized that this looked like something out of one of those old black and white movies he would sometime watch when he couldn't sleep at night. He had to wonder if this is why this dream felt so real. He had just watched one of those movies the other night.

Lily kept glancing over at Ryan trying to catch his reactions, "so, does anything look familiar to you?"

Ryan had to admit his imagination was more vivid that he would have thought. Everything he saw looked so dated, yet so new all at the same time. There were a few building he thought he recognized, but his last memory of what they looked like was nothing like what he was saw today. The buildings he remembered were either run down or very weathered. These building looked like they had been built only a few years ago. "I remember some of the building". He pointed to one in particular, "Over there is the post office and if I am correct that is library".

Lily looked at the buildings he was referring to, "Well you are almost correct. That one is indeed the post office, but the other one is not a library, it is the police department".

The thought of a police station peaked Ryan's interest, "Really, I guess I was mistaken then. Have you ever been inside the building?"

"I was in there once. I was dating one of the officers for awhile, but it didn't work out".

Ryan had to wonder what kind of guy would let such a woman like Lily slip through their fingers. Even though he had only spent the last few days with her, he thought she was amazing. But he quickly reminded himself that none of this was real.

-

It was late afternoon when Lily suggested they get some food and have a little picnic on the beach.

Ryan's stomach had been growling quite loudly for the past hour so he thought this was a great idea.

They picked up some bread, meat and cheese from the local butcher shop and then rode some borrowed bikes down to the beach. As they approached the water Ryan was astounded at how blue the water looked and at how clean the sand on the beach looked. In fact everything he had seen today was so clean looking.

"So Ryan, have you enjoyed your day so far?"

"It's been great Lily. I kinda don't want it to end".

Lily smiled at him as she took a bite of bread. Once she finished chewing it she responded, "It doesn't have to end. I talked to the owner of the theater and he said that you can stay in the back room as long as you want. He even said that he could offer you a job if you like".

Ryan thought about what she said for a moment, "I don't know. I appreciate the offer, but I really hope I won't be here long".

"Well, you should think about it. It would be nice to have you around the theater".

Ryan looked at her and thought about what she just said. He had to wonder where this dream was going. Was his mind somehow telling him that he was going to be stuck here for awhile? He hoped not.

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	6. Chapter 6

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Over the past week Ryan had finally accepted that he better get use to his new surroundings and agreed to take a job at the theater. Lily had kept her word and talked the owner; who offered him a job as a night watchman. Ryan felt it was better than nothing; at least it gave him a place to stay and some money for food. He was also getting to know more about the theater and wondered why he never noticed it before.

Tonight was a big night for Lily. She was staring as the lead actress in a play that was going to run over the course of the next week. Her big dream was to move to New York and become a big star so she was hoping for some good reviews. Her employer was also hoping for some big revenue since this was her first play where she was the main star and not a supporting one. She had worked hard to convince her employer for this shot and she didn't' want to disappoint them.

Ryan planned on watching the play from the sidelines and was very excited for Lily. He had bought her some flowers and was on his way to her dressing room to give them to her. As he approached the door he heard some shouting coming from inside. Once he was directly outside of the room he heard a man talking rather loudly with a few brief outbursts from Lily. He didn't know what the conversation was all about, but the man's voice was getting louder by the second.

Ryan didn't know what to do but figured he owed it to Lily to make sure she was alright. He lightly knocked on the door and waited. When nothing happened he moved his hand up to knock again, but he never had the chance. The door suddenly flew open and Ryan was almost knocked over by Lily. Ryan looked in the direction she was rushing off to and attempted to get here to stop, "Lily, wait; is everything ok".

Ryan started to take off after her, but was suddenly grabbed by the shoulder rather roughly. The hands on his arms were very strong as they swung him around. He was about to say something but when he saw that it was his boss who was standing there he remained quiet.

Joseph Boneao, the owner of the building was giving Ryan an angry look. "What were you doing out here, were you spying on us?"

Ryan could stand up for himself if he needed to, but it was usually because he had his gun to back him up. This time there was nothing to back him up so he played it cool, "No Mr. Boneao, I wasn't spying. I had just come to bring Lily something before her play".

Joseph looked at the flowers in Ryan's hands, "Oh, how sweet, you were bringing her flowers".

Ryan was roughly pushed aside as his boss walked in the same direction as Lily. He walked inside Lily's dressing room and saw that several things that were once neatly placed in the room were not lying on the floor. He didn't like the looks of this and knew he had to find out, but it would have to wait until he could get her alone. He wasn't afraid of his boss, but if his interference were to cause her to get hurt he would not be able to live with himself.

-

While the play was going on, Ryan stood off to the side of the stage with Richard the handyman. He was enjoying Lily's performance and couldn't wait to tell her. He also couldn't wait to talk to her about her heated argument with their boss.

"She's great, isn't she?"

It took Ryan a second to register anyone speaking to him. He was too fixated on Lily. As he turned to see who had said something he saw that it was Richard, "Oh yes, she is wonderful".

"I've never missed a single play she has been in".

Ryan smiled at Richard. He liked the man, but felt sorry for how everyone here treated him. He was not the brightest man so everyone seemed to either walk all over him or they were afraid of him because they didn't understand his disability. "You must be her biggest fan then?"

Richard liked the idea of that, "I am her biggest fan".

Ryan turned back to watch Lily. She was such an amazing actress.

When the show was over and she had taken her final curtain call she headed toward Ryan and Richard.

Before Ryan could say anything Richard pulled out a bouquet of flowers and held them out to her.

As Lily exited the stage she was happy to see Ryan was standing there watching her, but she also saw Richard and smiled. "Oh Richard, I knew you would be here waiting for me". She took the flowers and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

Richard put his hand up to this cheek so he could cherish the lingering moistness from her lips. He giggled a little as he wondered off to clean up after the play.

Lily looked at Ryan and saw a smile on his face, "What, did you think I wouldn't acknowledge my biggest fan. Richard has been to every single one of my plays; even the ones where I only had a few lines". She went over and put the flowers in a vase that she had waiting. "So Ryan, what did you think of my performance?"

"I thought you were brilliant Lily. I was never one to enjoy the theater, but I think you have changed my mind".

"That is such a nice compliment, thank you Ryan. So do you want to take the star of the show out for a bite to eat?"

Ryan was hoping she was up to doing something tonight. He still had a few more hours before his night shift started and he was starving. "I'll take you anywhere you want, as long as it doesn't cost too much. I haven't gotten paid yet?"

"No worries Ryan; just let me get changed and we can go for a walk on the boardwalk".

Ryan was happy to know her. He had never met such a wonderful woman before and had to wonder if this is what all the women from this time were like. The only problem with this theory is that he had to keep reminding himself that he was dreaming all of this and Lily's personality was most likely his own idea of the perfect woman.

As he waited for Lily he caught the image of Richard out of the corner of his eye. As he turned to look at him, he almost thought Richard looked angry. When he started to walk over to him to strike up a conversation Richard suddenly took off. He was such a strange man; no wonder some people were afraid of him.

-

Lily had put on her prettiest dress and dabbed a little bit of her favorite perfume onto her wrists and neck. She was excited to be going out with Ryan again. He was such a nice change from the other men she would go out with. Especially Joseph; who she was currently mad at. She had been dating him for the past 4 months and he was starting to think he owned her. She had always told herself she would never let what happened to her mother happen to her so she had broken off their relationship earlier in the day; something that Joseph didn't take very well.

"Well Ryan, are you ready?"

Ryan turned and looked at her. What he saw almost took his breath away. She had to be the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes one, "Wow, you look amazing".

"I was hoping you noticed".

As usual, Lily took the lead and put her arm through Ryan's so that they were walking arm and arm out the door.

As they left, neither one noticed they were being watched.

Joseph came out of the shadows of the corner and watched the two leave the theater. He didn't know much about this Ryan guy, but he didn't feel particularly threatened by him. So far Lily's interest could be compared to one who might be taking care of a stray dog they found. He knew he had to keep an eye out for him though, just in case things changed. Before Lily had found Ryan, his relationship with her had hit a rough patch, so when she had asked him to do this favor for her, he thought she would see what a generous guy he was. Perhaps there was still a chance to use Ryan to win Lily's hand back.

-

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Two hours later Ryan and Lily came back to the theater, where Joseph was waiting for them.

When Lily saw him sitting in her dressing room waiting, she wanted to pretend that she had not seen him, but knew he would never buy it.

"Hi Lily, I waited for you to return. I wanted to talk to you about earlier".

"There is nothing further to discuss Joseph".

"Please Lily; I really just want to talk to you". He hated begging in front of her, but he couldn't think of any other way to get through to her at the moment.

"No Joseph, I think you should leave".

Ryan had been standing next to Lily and didn't quite know what to do. He didn't want anyone making trouble for her, but he didn't know if he had to right to butt into their conflict. He turned his head toward her, "I really should get going".

"No Ryan, you don't have to go".

Joseph stood up and walked toward them. He looked straight at Ryan as he said, "Yes, his shift starts in a few minutes. I would hate for him to be late; I may have to get rid of him".

As soon as Lily heard this she knew she was stuck. She didn't want Ryan losing his job over her. "You're probably right, you should go Ryan".

Ryan didn't like the tone in Joseph's voice or the look in his eyes, "Are you going to be alright Lily?"

Joseph answered for her, "Of course she is going to be alright. I am going to drive her home, isn't that right Lily".

She could only think of one thing to do and that was to give in to Joseph, "Yes, I'll be ok Ryan. I will see you tomorrow".

Ryan stood outside the dressing room as Joseph closed the door. He heard some voices inside, but since there was no shouting he decided to go. He would check on her in the morning and try and get her to tell him what was going on. She had refused to talk about it earlier, but he would find a way to get her to talk about it. He cared about her and only wished her the best.

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	7. Chapter 7

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Lily had just finished her week long play with raving reviews. She was so excited that one of the papers even said that she should consider moving to New York to showcase her talents. It was her dream and something that she would do anything for. Her only problem was Joseph; who she feared wasn't going to let her go so easily.

She had made up with Joseph on the first night of the play and was afraid to say anything to him about the idea of moving away. She owed a lot to him for giving her a chance, but she didn't think it was enough to give up her dream. But truth be told; she was scared of him.

Now that her play was over she was starting on a new one that a director friend of Joseph's was working on. Joseph had told his friend that he could do whatever he wanted to get the play up and running; which included using Lily as the lead. Lily knew this new director was very well known and would bring in a great deal of revenue. She also knew that this would look good on her portfolio; something that certainly didn't hurt when she were to audition for future plays.

As she was cleaning up her dressing room she heard a light knock on the door. She went over and opened the door to a very happy sight. "Hi Ryan, I was wondering if you were going to come and see me today".

"Well, I must admit I have been busy sleeping during the day because of my night shift, but someone told me it was your birthday today so I knew I had to come and see you".

"Who told you that?"

Ryan didn't want to get the person in trouble, but he figured she would not stop asking until he told her, "It was Richard. I think he was planning on something special for you".

"Oh that sounds like Richard. Please come in". She opened the door further to allow him room to enter.

Ryan entered the room and handed her a small wrapped box, "Happy Birthday Lily". He leaned over and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

Lily accepted the small box and looked at it for a moment, "Oh Ryan, you didn't have to get me anything".

"But I wanted to. If it weren't for you I may have been living out on the streets".

Lily opened the box slowly, but as soon as she saw what was inside her eyes lit up. "Oh Ryan, this is beautiful. You must have spent your whole paycheck on this".

Ryan was pleased she liked it. He took the bracelet out of the box and put it on her wrist. "It looks beautiful on you".

She moved her arm up to watch how the bracelet dangled off her wrist, "Oh Ryan, this is just too expensive, I don't think I can accept this".

"I won't take it back, you deserve this and so much more".

She gave him a big hug to thank him. When she pulled away she looked into his eyes and saw something she had not seen in a long time; it was the look of someone who wanted nothing in return. She was so use to getting things from people who would then wait for some form of payment. She was not very happy with her past, but it did get her to where she was now. But Ryan was so different from other men she had met. She wanted to kiss him so badly but took a step back instead.

Ryan wanted to ask her something but was interrupted by a sound at the door. He looked in the direction and saw that it was Richard standing there with a huge bouquet of Lilies.

"Happy Birthday Lily", Richard held out the flowers and waited for Lily to take them.

"Oh Richard, I can always count on you to bring me my favorite flowers". She took them and put them on her dressing table. "They look perfect there, don't you think?"

Richard was looking at Lily and not the flowers when he said, "yes, but they are not as pretty as the Lily standing before me".

"Richard, you always know the right words to say to me". She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Richard once again put his fingers to his cheek to cherish the kiss. He started to move closer to Lily, but when he realized that she had company he backed away, "I need to get back to work". He turned and walked out the door.

Once Richard left the room Ryan said, "He is such a strange guy".

"Oh, don't be so hard on him. He means well".

"So, do you think I can take the birthday girl out to lunch today?"

"I'm sorry Ryan, but I already have plans". She was disappointed at not being able to go out with Ryan. She had accepted Joseph's invitation for lunch and knew if she cancelled she might be asking for trouble.

Ryan was disappointed as well but didn't want her to know, "Ok, well maybe I can take you out another time then".

Lily walked him to her door, "that would be lovely Ryan, let's plan on that". She watched him walk away down the hall and then shut her door.

She went back and sat down to get ready for her date with Joseph. As she sat there staring in the mirror she heard another light tapping on the door. She assumed Ryan must have forgotten something so she didn't hesitate to open the door, "Ryan, did you forget something?"

When she saw that it was Joseph she was taken back a bit, "Oh Joseph, you're early".

Joseph said nothing and pushed his way inside the room, shutting the door behind him. He proceeded to push her to the floor, "So, now you're getting flowers and jewelry from another man on your birthday, well, I think you'll like my present a lot better".

Lily tried to get away but she was pinned to the floor. "Joseph, you're hurting me".

"I give you so much and this is how you thank me".

Lily could smell the liquor on his breath, "Joseph, you've been drinking".

At this statement Joseph hit her hard in the face to silence her. It gave him enough time to rip part of her dress off, but she wasn't silent for long.

Lily screamed for help but was rewarded with another smack to the face. As she felt more of her dress being torn away the door to her dressing room suddenly burst open. She tried to look toward the door, but found Joseph being pulled off of her instead. Her first thought was that Ryan had come back, but when she saw that it was Richard who had burst in she was surprised. She pulled her ripped dress over her body to recover some of her dignity as she sat up.

Richard had pulled Joseph back and was about to toss him to the ground, but was too slow. Joseph got to his feet and pushed Richard into Lily's dressing table. He then picked the man up and started pounding him in the face. He would have kept hitting him if it hadn't been for Lily.

"Stop it Joseph, you're going to kill him". She tried to pull Joseph off but found herself sprawling backward toward the floor. When she recovered herself she saw that Joseph was pulling Richard out of the room, "Where are you taking him?"

Joseph had the look of pure evil in his eyes as he looked at her, "None of your business".

Lily watched as Joseph left with Richard. She didn't know what he was going to do with him, but she thought he was just going to teach him a lesson. She wanted to stop whatever punishment Richard would receive since he had just saved her from getting raped, but she knew better than to interfere. She would have to find Richard later and hope that he would forgive her for not trying.

-

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When Lily saw Joseph a few hours later, he acted like he did nothing wrong earlier. When she asked about Richard he said that he had fired the man for his actions and to not ask about it any further. This was not something she was expecting. When she tried to ask where he went he grabbed her arm and squeezed it hard, telling her to not ask about it again. She got the message rather quickly and wanted nothing more than to get away from him. When he realized what he had just done his face changed to that of someone who was sorry. "I'm sorry Lily; I don't know what came over me before. You know how I get when I've been drinking and I just wasn't responsible for my actions earlier, please do forgive me". He could see she was not buying his admission so he pulled out a box and handed it to her, "Here, I want you to open your birthday present".

Lily took the box, trying not to let her shaky hands drop it. She opened it and saw a very expensive necklace inside.

"Well, what do you think of it? I know you were admiring it in the shop window the other day". He waited for her response for only a moment; "Well, aren't you going to put it on".

"Of course Joseph", she pulled it out of the box and had it for only a moment before he took it back. He walked behind her and started to put the necklace on. She felt the cold metal hit her flesh and cringed as it tightened around her neck. She put her hands up to pull it back but realized that he had finished putting in on.

The rest of the day Lily pretended to enjoy her time and made sure to thank Joseph for all the he had done for her. She even allowed him to take her home where he was finally able to give her the present he tried to give her earlier. She felt so sick after he left that she spent the rest of the night in the bathroom.

-

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The next morning she arrived to work early enough to catch Ryan as he was getting off his shift. When she saw him she could instantly tell something was wrong, "What's the matter Ryan".

Ryan put his head down now quite sure how to tell her. He hesitated for a moment but eventually found the words, "its Richard. He had an accident sometime last night and by the time anyone found him it was too late".

Lily's face went white as she listened to Ryan. "What, where is he, I want to see him".

"I'm sorry Lily, it's too late. He's dead".

Lily said nothing more as she fainted into Ryan's waiting arms.

-

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Lily woke up with a feeling of something cold on her forehead. When she put her hand up to inspect whatever it was she heard Ryan's voice and stopped.

"Hi Lily, are you feeling better?"

She looked at him and could see the worry behind his eyes. "Is he really dead Ryan?"

Ryan only nodded his head as he watched Lily start to cry. He wanted to dry her tears, but he saw that she was using the towel that had been on her head.

"How did he die?" She had an idea in the back of her mind, but couldn't bring herself to believe it.

"Apparently he was up on the roof fixing something when he took a tumble over the side".

Lily could see something in his face as he said it, "You look like you have doubts about the way he died, is there something you're not telling me?"

Ryan had been thinking about it all morning. He didn't want Lily to know that he had been the one to find Richard, but when he saw his body it looked like he had been beaten to a pulp; something that a fall off the roof would not do. "I was just trying to figure out what he was doing on the roof. I don't know when he had fallen off, but I don't remember hearing anything last night. You would think something like that could be heard all throughout this old theater".

Lily thought he might be blaming himself, "It wasn't your fault. You may not have been able to do anything if you had found him any earlier".

"I know, but there was just something about the way he looked that didn't make sense".

"So you saw his body, what did he look like?"

This was why he didn't want her to know he had found Richard. "He just had bruising that would not have come from a fall".

As soon as Ryan mentioned the strange bruising, Lily knew her earlier suspicions were correct.

Ryan noticed the look on her face. This is where his training as a CSI came in handy, "do you know something about this?"

Lily's hesitation was all that Ryan needed, "You do know something, tell me what you know?"

"I'm afraid to tell you for fear it could happen to you as well".

"I can take care of myself Lily, if you know something you need to tell me".

With all the questions, Lily's mind started to wonder off. She thought he sounded like a police officer at this exact moment and that made her remember something he had said when she first found him. She had just thought he was delusional when he said he was a crime investigator in the future, but the way he was acting now she had to wonder if maybe he had been telling the truth; at least about his occupation.

Ryan saw the far off look on her face and gave her only a moment before he asked her the question again, "Tell me what you know Lily".

This was enough to bring her out of her thoughts, and without thinking anymore about Ryan's safety she blurted it out, "I think Joseph killed Richard".

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	8. Chapter 8

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After Lily had told Ryan that Joseph had killed Richard, she refused to discuss it anymore with him. He didn't want to let it go so he started his own little investigation. After looking into why Richard may have been on the roof, it was looking more and more like foul play. The last time anyone saw Richard was shortly after he presented Lily with some flowers. There was talk about an argument between Richard and Joseph and someone mentioned that the handyman probably went up on the roof to get away from his boss. Someone said that this wasn't the first time that Richard hid out on the roof.

There had been a very small funeral for Richard with Ryan being one of the few who attended. Lily had been there, but she was so emotional that she left shortly after arriving. After the funeral he had decided to give her a few more days before he brought up the topic again. He wanted to find out what happened, but mostly he wanted to know why she was suddenly afraid to talk to him; or anyone for that matter.

Ryan knew that Lily was working late that evening as she was preparing for her new play that was to begin in a week. He wanted to get her alone so that he could talk to her.

It was an hour before his shift was to start when he started heading toward her dressing room. When he got there the door opened before he ever got a chance to knock. He saw that it was Tony, the prop masters assistant, "Hey Tony, is Lily in there?"

Tony looked back inside the room before replying, "Yeah, she's inside, but I don't know if she is in the mood to talk to anyone right now".

Lily had heard Tony talking to Ryan and walked over to the door, "It's ok Tony, Ryan can come in. I wanted to talk to him anyway".

Ryan was happy to hear that she wanted to talk. He moved out of Tony's way before entering the room. "Hi Lily, I'm glad to hear you wanted to talk to me. I actually wanted to talk to you as well".

Lily was busy taking her makeup off, but could see Ryan in the mirror, "So how have you been Ryan. I'm sorry I haven't talked to you much lately. I've been very busy, but there is something I wanted to ask you to do for me".

"You know I would do anything for you Lily. As I have mentioned before, I owe you a lot for taking me in when I had nowhere to go".

Lily finished wiping off the last of her makeup and turned her chair to face Ryan. "I know you said that you have some kind of knowledge or background in criminal actions so I thought you could help me with something".

Ryan was hoping she would just say whatever was on her mind. He hated when people beat around the bush, "What is it you want me to do".

"I want you to help murder me".

If Ryan could have seen his face in the mirror he would have seen a shocked look. This was the last thing he had been expecting. "Help murder you, what are you talking about Lily?"

"I can't take this life anymore and I need to get away from Joseph".

"Well then just walk away, why do you have to kill yourself?"

"It's not that easy Ryan. I don't want to die, but I want Joseph to think I did so he won't look for me. I don't think he would just let me walk away".

Still overcome with her idea, Ryan stood up to think about what she was saying, "What happened to make you decided to do something like this".

"I know Joseph killed Richard and I am afraid that I may be next, or even worse, he could come after you".

"Why would he want to kill you, let alone me?"

"I was with Richard and Joseph before the accident and Joseph said he had taken care of Richard. It's too much of a coincident that Richard had an accident. I think he was murdered and Joseph may be afraid that I will tell someone".

Ryan ran his hands through his hair trying to process what she was saying, "If you're worried about him let me take you someplace where you will be safe".

Lily shook her head and looked down at the floor, "He would never let me go. He would hunt me down until he had what belonged to him. I have to make him think I'm dead. I remembered what you had said after I had found you and I thought you could help me set it up".

Ryan suddenly remembered the last time someone had asked him to help fake a death and he had vowed to never do it again, "No Lily, let me take you away and I promise Joseph will never find you".

"No Ryan, it has to be this way. I can't have you helping me because he may do to you what he did to Richard".

"And why would he do that".

"Because Joseph suspects that I am falling in love with you; and he's right".

Ryan was stunned as her admission. He had feeling for her as well, but he had put them aside as he kept trying to remind himself that this was not real. For the last few weeks he had struggled with his creation of this world in his mind and knew he had to be careful not to get sucked into it. He had to keep his hope that he would wake up soon and all of this would just go away, but it was getting harder to believe this was a dream that he would wake up from. Whatever his mind was doing he had to just go along with his or lose his sanity all together.

Lily saw his hesitation and knew he was not going to help, "its ok if you don't want any part of this. I have asked Tony to help me and he has agreed. I have been thinking about this and there is nothing you can say that will change my mind".

"What are you going to do once he thinks you're dead?"

"I have something in mind. I even have a new name for myself; do you want to know what it is? I am going to use my grandmother's name as a way of honoring her memory. She was the one who got me into acting in the first place and I figured since I am going to start all over again I would start with her "

"Can you do one thing for me Lily; will you please just think about my offer".

Lily had no intention of doing that, but she wanted to give Ryan some peace of mind, "I will think about it Ryan". She stood up and opened her door, "Now if you don't mind I need to change".

Ryan stood up to leave, but before he did he said, "Please think about what I said". He then turned and exited the room.

-

-

It had been a week since Ryan had talked to Lily and he knew she was avoiding him. He wanted to go and find her and try to get her to change her mind, but he was never able to get the chance. With the new play opening up for a trial run that evening, they had needed extra help from Ryan. While the play itself was not entirely ready for the public, a few important people had been invited for a sneak peak at what to expect. This had been Joseph's idea on how to get more people to come. If there was good press about it before hand then more people would want to see it.

Ryan kept trying all night to get Lily alone, but she just kept avoiding him. She wouldn't even look at him. If anything Ryan thought she looked scared of something. He wondered if things between her and Joseph had gotten worse since they last talked.

When he finally saw her alone she was just getting ready to go on stage. She looked beautiful in her costume and he noticed she was wearing her bracelet.

"Lily, do you think we could talk before you go on stage?"

Lily looked into his eyes, "Oh Ryan, I'm sorry". She stepped forward and kissed his lips before pulling away. "I'll always love you". She turned away and rushed on stage.

Ryan could still taste her lips as he watched her go one stage. He was suddenly filled with hope that she had come to her senses. It only took him a few minutes to make up his mind. He was going to take her away tonight and get her away from the things that scared her. He went to his room to pack his few belongings. Also without even thinking about what he was doing, he put his old clothes back on.

After he had his bag packed he headed back upstairs. As he walked toward the stairway his path was suddenly blocked.

Joseph was blocking his way, "Where do you think you're going Ryan?"

Ryan was no longer afraid of him. If he was going to help Lily he had to stand up to him, "I've decided to quit".

"Oh really, and where do you think you are going to go?"

"It's none of your business where I'm going".

"Well you're not taking her with you".

Ryan knew who Joseph was referring to and tried to change the subject, "You don't have to pay me for my last week of work".

"I don't care about the money, but I do care about her and you are not taking her".

Ryan suddenly realized that someone was standing behind him. He felt trapped and tried to think of a way out. Before he got a chance to try and talk his way out of it he felt the hands of whoever it was behind him. The hands pulled his arms behind his back and Ryan found he was at Joseph's mercy. "What are you going to do with me?"

"I'm going to do what I should have done earlier".

Ryan saw Joseph's fist coming toward his face and tried to move out of its way, but whoever was holding him made sure he couldn't. The last thing he felt before everything went dark was Joseph's hand connecting with his chin.

-

-

Without even opening his eyes, Ryan could tell he was lying outside. He felt the pain in his head but wasn't ready to see if he was alone. He lay there for a few moments when he thought he smelled something odd. This forced him to finally open his eyes.

As he sat up a dizzy spell forced him to close his eyes again. When he opened them again he looked around and saw that he was alone, but there was a strange glow coming from around the corner of the building he was sitting next to. He got up and slowly made his way toward the light. As he got closer to the light, the smell he sensed upon waking up got stronger. He thought the smell was familiar, but he could not place what it was.

When he went around the corner the reason the smell was familiar become very apparent. It was the smell of burning flesh that he connected to the fire before him. He ran over to the fire, but the body beneath the flames was unrecognizable. He just stood there staring at the body when his eyes suddenly saw something familiar laying next to the body. It was the bracelet he had given Lily, "Oh my god, Lily".

He didn't realize how loud his scream had been, but he was too busy using his jacket to put out the flames. Something inside of him knew it was too late, but he had to try.

He was just about done when he heard screaming.

"Hey, she's over here".

When Ryan looked up he saw several men running towards him. He thought they were there to help, "Hey, you have to help me save her".

One of the men pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Ryan, "Step away from the body".

When Ryan realized that they were not there to help he yelled back, "Hey, I didn't do this".

"Step back and you won't get hurt".

Ryan panicked and looked for an escape. He saw that the door to the theater was open so he ran inside. He didn't know where he was going but he had to get away. He headed toward the stairs that led to the orchestra pit. He thought if he ran down there he would run up the other stairs and then go through the front doors.

As he entered the stair case he foot hit one of the stairs wrong and it sent him flying to the bottom. He looked up toward the top of the stairs before he blacked out.

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Ryan could feel someone shaking his shoulder, but he didn't open his eyes. As the shaking continued he heard someone calling his name. The voice sounded so familiar that he finally opened his eyes to find out if he was correct.

"John, is that really you?"

"Oh man Ryan, you had me worried. We have been looking for you for the past hour, are you ok?"

Ryan sat up with John's help. "I've only been gone for an hour. Are you sure?"

"Yeah, we had sent you back for our equipment, but got so caught up in something that we didn't realize you hadn't come back yet".

"Oh man, you are never going to believe the dream I had".

"Well you can tell all about it later. Right now I think we need to get someone to look at the nasty bump on your head and get you back to the hotel".

"But what about the investigation?"

"Don't worry, we'll finish it. But as for you, I was thinking that maybe you could do some research on this place to verify some of Mr. Parker's claims".

Ryan didn't say anything more as John helped him up the stairs. He had to admit that he didn't feel like running around in the dark old place anymore tonight and maybe it was better that he help by checking out the claims.

Ryan had convinced John that he didn't need to go see a doctor so now they were on their way back to the hotel. As he sat in the back of the van his thoughts went back to Lily. It had all just been a dream, but it seemed so real that he was having a hard time getting over the last images and smells he had. When he closed his eyes he could still see the body and the smell of burnt flesh. How could a dream feel so real? He continued to think about it and absently rubbed his chin. He felt a rather nasty bruise but took it to be something he got in the fall down the stairs.

Before they arrived at the hotel Ryan was feeling cold, "Hey John, do one of you have my jacket, I'm kinda of cold?"

"Sorry, we didn't see your jacket when we found you. You must have taken it off in one of the rooms. We'll look for it tomorrow OK?"

"Yeah sure, sounds good". Ryan accepted John's jacket as a suitable substitute and laid back into the seat. He was tired, but he didn't think he was going to be able to sleep. There was just too much running through his mind.

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---------------------------------The story is not over yet-------------------------


	9. Chapter 9

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John made sure someone stayed with Ryan while he rested back in the hotel room. Even though Ryan insisted he was fine, John didn't like the fact that his friend had been unconscious for about an hour and was worried about a concussion.

When John arrived at the hotel the next morning he found Ryan awake and ready to continue the investigation.

"Hey Ryan, how ya feeling?"

"I feel a lot better than I did last night. So what is the plan for today?"

"Well, I am not taking any chances with you buddy, so I would like you to take it easy and do some research on the history of the theater".

Ryan would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed by this news, but he couldn't blame his friend. This was something John did all the time so he was use to it, but to have a friend join them and get hurt right away was too just too much of a risk.

"I guess I could do that for you. It will probably be very interesting learning the history of the place".

After showering and eating a little breakfast Ryan settled down with John's computer to begin his research. As he entered in the name of the theater into the search engine he was surprised and happy to see that there were many sites to check out. He settled on the first one on the list.

He clicked on the link and as he saw the web site come up he instantly recognized the picture that was being displayed. It was of the outside of the theater as it looked today. On the page were several links, one of which was devoted to past cast members from various plays.

As the page of past actors and actresses came up he saw that they were from recent plays, but there was a link to another page title 'Archive'. He clicked on it and saw it was split up be the various years. Once he clicked on 1939 he found the name he was looking for. He clicked on Lily Van Walken's name and waited for it to load; which seems like forever. When the page finally came up Ryan just about dropped the glass of water he was holding. On the screen was the face from his dream. She looked exactly how he had remembered her to be, but how could he know what she had looked like when the theater manager had never shown them a picture of her. He had to wonder if he had seen her picture hanging in the theater while he was on the tour but never knew it was her picture.

As he read through the paragraph on her he was disappointed that it didn't give very many details of her life, but it did at least mention her murder had occurred in the theater. It mentioned that she had been killed by someone after starting a new play and that her murderer was never convicted.

As he continued to search the site he found a few more things that he couldn't quite explain. He found anther picture of Lily and she was standing next to a man who was also in his dream. He read the caption and saw that the man standing next to her was the owner of the theater. How could he have known what this man looked like?

None of this made any sense, but if his training taught him anything, he knew there would be a logical explanation somewhere out there. He tried to put it out of his mind as he continued his research.

He continued to look at several other sites but didn't find much else of interest. There was one other place that John had suggested searching and that was the library. There he may be able to find some old newspaper articles.

He knew the library wasn't far from the hotel so he decided to walk there.

After getting help from the main desk he was given some reels that may contain newspapers from 1939, but they told him he would have to look through each one to see if there were any articles pertaining to the theater.

He got started on his task after they showed him how to load the reels and how to use the machine.

He had been pouring over so many pages that he didn't know if he would find anything today. It was getting close to when the library was to close so he decided to finish with the one reel before packing everything up and calling it a day. As he was glanced through the now familiar looking clippings he suddenly stopped at the page of obituaries. There were only 3 names listed, but one of them he knew. It belonged to Richard, the handyman at the theater. As he read what it said a sudden chill ran down his spine. It said that he had died after falling off the roof of the local theater.

He stared at the screen for a few moments now quite sure how to process what he was reading. But something told him to keep searching. He advanced the reel a few more pages and he finally found what he was looking for.

The article was all about Lily and her murder. It gave some background on her career and then provided a little bit of detail on how she was killed. It said that she had been stabbed in her dressing room and then her body was dragged out behind the theater and set on fire. He continued to read when another chill ran down his spine. In the article it mentioned that although no one was convicted of her murder they had one suspect who managed to escape. The article said the person of interest was a man by the name of Ryan and he had been the night watchman at the theater for a short time.

When the librarian walked over to tell Ryan the library was closing, she found him just staring at the screen, "Sir, are you alright? I just came over to tell you the library was closing".

Ryan heard something but he didn't react to it right away. He just kept staring at the sentence that talked about the suspect. His head was in some kind of fog and it wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder that he finally realized he was not alone. He looked up and saw the same woman who had helped him earlier, but this time she had a worried look in her eyes.

"You don't look so good sir; can I get you some water or something?"

Ryan suddenly felt embarrassed. He could just imagine what he looked like and tried to compose himself, "No, I'm fine, but some water sounds good".

"Don't worry about this stuff, I can put it away". The librarian led Ryan to a small area where there were some tables and a couple of vending machines. "Were closing soon, but take your time".

"Thanks", Ryan went over to one of the machines and selected a bottle of water. He took the seat closest to the window and sat down while he drank his water. His mind was still somewhat numb from what he had read. Every time he tried to think of a logical reason how he would have known such details about people who had lived and died in the 1930's his mind would take him back to his dream.

He decided he needed to talk to someone and had called John. He needed to talk to him about what he found anyway so he could take care of both things at once.

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As Ryan arrived back at the theater a sense of dread overcame him as he saw the building. He stared at the front door, but couldn't open it as memories of Lily suddenly started flowing though his mind. He took a step back but felt himself collide with someone.

"Hey Ryan, your just in time to help us load up the van".

Ryan turned around and found it was John that he had walked backward into, "Oh sorry John, I didn't know anyone was behind me".

John could see there was something wrong, "Are you ok buddy?"

Ryan scratched his head, "I'm not sure; can I talk to you?"

"Sure, let's go inside".

"I would rather talk out here if you don't mind".

John gave Ryan a strange look, "Sure, if that's what you want. We can go and talk over by the van".

Ryan followed John, but when he realized the van was in the back of the building he stopped.

John could tell Ryan had stopped and turned around, "Hey what's the matter; you look as white as a ghost".

Ryan knew John said something, but he was too busy staring at the back of the building to pay attention to him. All he could see was the burning body of Lily. He was afraid to go any further.

John walked back to his friend, "Hey you're scaring me Ryan. What is going on with you?"

Ryan finally snapped out of it as he felt his arm being grasped. He looked at the owner of the up and saw that it was John. Once again he felt embarrassed by his actions.

John took action and led Ryan to the van. Once they were both seated in the front John could see Ryan relax, "Now are you going to tell me what just happened to you back there?"

"I don't know what to tell you John, except that I have memories of this place that I just shouldn't have".

John was confused, "What are you talking about?"

"I know this might sound crazy, but I feel like I was here when Lily was killed. After I fell down the stairs I had dreamt of this place, but I didn't think much of it until I started doing the research for you. There are just too many things for it to be a coincidence".

"Like what, I don't quite know what you mean?"

"I have memories of people that were here with Lily before she died and I remember finding her body as it burned behind the theater". He paused to take a breath, "I remember running from the police because they thought it was me that did that to her. And when I looked up the information at the library they said they had a suspect who had gotten away; that guy's name was Ryan".

John had a strange look on his face as he thought over Ryan's words. "So, what are you telling me, that when you fell down the stairs you were transported to the past?"

Ryan knew how this sounded and could see on his friends face that he didn't buy any of this, but he had no other explanation, "I told you it sounded crazy".

"I'm sure there is something we can find to explain the knowledge you are claiming to have".

Ryan took offence to John's notion that he was making this up, "I am not making any of this up John. The things I know were not part of the tour we got so tell me how I know these things".

John realized that he had sounded to Ryan so he changed his approach, "Look, I really want you to go see a doctor and make sure you are ok. I want to believe you but I want to make sure that you didn't hit your head harder then we first thought".

Ryan understood John's take on all of this and to be honest with himself, he knew he should be checked out by a doctor to rule out after affects from his fall. "Ok, I'll go see my doctor tomorrow, but in the meantime I will continue to do some more research on this place".

John appreciated Ryan's help and knew he wanted to see it to the end, but he really wanted to make sure he was ok, "I think it's great that you still want to help us, but I think we have enough from what you already found for us to report back to the owner of this place. I want you to just take care of yourself".

"I would be lying if I said I was ok with your decision, but I understand the position this has put you in. I had fun on this case and I hope you remember me next time you're in town".

"You'll be the first one we ask; now I think I should take you home".

The rest of the ride was quiet. Ryan didn't want to go home but didn't feel like he had a choice, but there was one thing that he felt he could still do and that was to do some more research. He wanted to find out a little more about Lily and her life and how she died.

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	10. Chapter 10

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Ryan didn't sleep well that night. His dreams were filled with memories from the theater and his time spent with Lily. When morning finally came he was tired, but felt a renewed sense of urgency to find out more about the case. He couldn't quite explain it, but ever since he got home he felt like he didn't have much time.

He went to work as usual, but he had trouble concentrating on the case he was helping Natalia with.

"Hey Ryan, you don't seem very focused today. Did your weekend not go as you planned it?"

Ryan looked up from the shirt he was currently trying to extract DNA samples from, "What?"

"I was just wondering what was up with you today. You seem to be distracted with something and I thought it may have to do with your weekend?"

"No, everything went well except for the fall down the stairs".

Natalia almost missed the last part of his sentence since he said it in such a way that made it sound like it wasn't a big deal. "Whoa, did you just say you fell down the stairs? Are you ok?"

"Oh yeah I'm ok. I didn't hurt myself".

"Well then why are you so distracted then?"

Ryan didn't hear her as his mind started to drift back to the weekend and the dreams he had after coming home. It was only after he heard Natalia clear her throat that he snapped out of day dream, "What, oh yeah sorry about that Natalia. I just have a lot on my mind".

Natalia was getting nowhere with this, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Ryan thought about her question for a moment and then responded, "If I wanted to find out about a case that occurred back in 1939, who would I talked?"

The question threw Natalia completely off, "Huh, why would you want to look at something that old?"

Ryan quickly realized how his question had sounded, "Oh, I just want to look into a murder that had occurred at the theater we investigated over the weekend".

This peaked Natalia's interest, "did you actually see a ghost or something then?"

"No unfortunately I didn't see any ghosts, but I did tell my friend I would look into some of the past inhabitants to see how accurate some of the stories are".

Natalia had hoped he would have said yes, but she didn't really believe in ghosts anyway. "Oh that makes sense. Well you should talk to the librarian over at the state library. They house a lot of the older cases in their archived room. I bet a case that was that old would be there".

"Thanks Natalia, I'll have to do that".

Ryan managed to get through the rest of the day and was now on his way to the state library. During his lunch hour he had gotten an appointment to talk to someone and was anxious to get there. He just hoped he would find something worth his while.

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After finding a parking spot and making his way into the library he was asked to wait. After about 20 minutes of which seemed to last forever, an older woman in her late 50's approached him.

"Hi, you must be the young man whom I talked to earlier on the phone?"

Ryan stood up, "Yes, my name is Ryan Wolfe and I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to me on such short notice".

"No problem Mr. Wolfe. Well if you'll follow me I can take you down to room where we house the older cases". She led Ryan to the elevator and once they were inside she pressed one of the buttons. "Well the room you're looking for is in the basement. So tell me again, why do you want to see the records from such an old case? I didn't think the police went that far back when they worked on cold cases".

"No, it's not for a cold case. I just wanted to do some research but I was having trouble locating enough information from the internet or the newspapers from that time".

The librarian had an inquisitive look on her face as she listened to Ryan. "So why are you doing research on this particular case then?"

Ryan knew she would ask so he had already come up with an excuse, "I was doing research on my family tree and I came across her name. She is one of my relatives that I want to know more about".

"I did my family tree once, but I stopped when I ran out of information. Your tree must be really detailed if you're going through this much trouble".

"Well, I hope to preserve it for my family someday so I want to have as much information as possible".

As the elevator stopped she led him to a locked room. She pulled out the key and opened the door. As they both entered the room she turned on the light. Ryan was surprised by the size of the space he was now in. The room was very large with an endless amount of shelves filled with white boxes. There were also a few computers and other various items against one of the walls.

The librarian walked over to the one of the computers and after a few minutes had it turned on, "In order to locate what you're looking for I'll need some information about the case".

"Her name was Lily Van Walken and she was murdered at the theater located in downtown Miami back in 1939".

The librarian typed in some information and was soon printing something off. "Well, we do have a few items from the case in one of the boxes, but the rest has been scanned into our computers". She went to the printer and pulled the one paper off. "Oh, you picked a good one. We're going to need the ladder for this one".

They walked toward the back and were soon facing a wall of boxes, "Well the one you want is at the top. It is marked as case # 2543".

Ryan positioned the ladder that he had brought over and soon pulled box number 2543 down. As soon as he was on the floor she led him to a small room located near the computers. "Well this is where you can view what's inside, but you cannot take anything out of the room without the proper approvals. While you're looking I will bring up the case on the computer".

She left Ryan alone in the room. He looked at the box and wondered what he would find inside. He pulled off the top and looked inside. What he saw surprised him. There was a plastic bag which contained a very badly burned piece of clothing.

He pulled the bag out and saw some writing on it. It said that it was the dress that Lily was wearing when they had found her body. From what he saw in the bag it was pretty hard to tell it had once been a dress, but as he turned it over in his hands he got a better look at the material. It looked like it had once been a pretty blue dress with sequins on it. As he stared at it a vision suddenly flooded him mind. What he saw was Lily wearing this dress on the last night he saw her, but how could this be. It was just a dream so how could he have known what kind of dress she had been wearing. Maybe he had seen a picture in the theater of her in this dress; it was the only possible explanation. He put the dress and the image of Lily out of his mind as he pulled the next item out.

It was another plastic bag with burnt clothing inside, but this one wasn't as bad as the dress. He was turning it around to figure out what it was when he suddenly dropped it to the ground. He stared at it refusing to believe what he was looking at. Inside the plastic bag was a dark brown leather coat that he instantly recognized as the same one he had worn and somehow lost at the theater the night he was there. His friend John had said they would look for it but here is was; inside a box from a murder that occurred over 70 years ago. His mind once again went back to this dream and what he remembered scared him. It was an image of him trying to use his jacket to put out the flames that were engulfing Lily's body. There had to be some sort of explanation, but he wasn't coming up with it. He just continued to stare at the jacket when his thoughts were interrupted by the librarian.

"I have the files up one the screen when you're ready". She looked at him and realized that he was looking at the floor. As soon as she saw what it was she immediately went over and picked it up, "You need to be more careful with the evidence Mr. Wolfe".

Ryan looked embarrassed as he took the item from her hands, "Sorry, I will be more careful".

"Well, as I mentioned before the file is up on the computer when you're ready".

"Thank, I'm finished with the box, but I can put it back before I look at the file". He placed the jacket back in the box, not wanting to look at anything else.

Once the box was back in its place Ryan sat down and started reading the case file. It wasn't very long, but what he read confirmed what he had seen in the newspaper clipping. The only suspect they had to the case was a previous night watchman by the name of Ryan. It went on to say that he had never been caught and eventually the case was closed as unsolved. He looked at the librarian as he was finished, "Well I would like to thank you very much for taking the time to show me this stuff".

The librarian noticed that he did not look very good, "Are you ok Mr. Wolfe?"

"I'm fine, but it was just hard reading about a family member's death this way". Ryan could tell that she bought his story and was glad she didn't bring it up again.

Once they were back upstairs he said his good bye and drove home. His drive was filled with the information he had just learned; or rather seen. He kept trying to think of how his jacket ended up in an evidence bag from a crime so long ago and the only thing he came up with was that it was not his jacket. It was merely one that just looked like his jacket.

When he got home he went straight to his computer. He started writing down all the facts from the case to see if it would tell him what to do next. When he had finished reading everything he had written down for the 100th time, he still had nothing. This was driving him nuts and he wanted answers. He just wished he could somehow go back to that time again or at least talk to someone who was there.

It was this last thought that made him stop. Something suddenly occurred to him and he realized that while it was a long shot, there may be someone he could talk to and that was Lily Van Walken herself.

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After some extensive research Ryan had finally found out the name of Lily Van Walken's mother; which was Isabella Touvelle. He had also located several women with that same name; one of which was still alive and living in a nursing home outside of Miami.

He didn't know what he was trying to prove, but he kept having dreams about his conversation with Lily about faking her death. He didn't have any proof that she had accomplished it; especially since they had her body, but he had to know. If he didn't do this he knew he would slowly go nuts.

He had taken a few days off and was now on his way to the very nursing home that Isabella Touvelle was living at. He tried to talk to one of the workers there but since he was not family they refused to give him any information over the phone.

He pulled up to what looked like your average nursing home. It had several older people being pushed around in wheel chairs and several other older people sitting in one of the shaded areas off to the side of the building.

He walked in and quickly found the front desk. He told the nurse who was at the desk that he was a nephew of Isabella Touvelle and wished to see her. She didn't seem to question him and soon led him to her room.

She knocked on the door before opening it and then went inside while Ryan waited outside. "Good afternoon Bella, your nephew is here to see you. Do you feel up to having company?"

Ryan could hear the nurse talking inside and then heard another voice reply, "I don't have a nephew, are you sure you have the right room?"

"He said he is your nephew. Do you want to come and have a look?"

"You can send him in; it might be nice to have some company for a change".

The nurse came out of the room just then, "She said you can go in now".

"Thanks", Ryan said as he moved to the side to allow the nurse to pass. Once she was gone he slowly made his way into the room. He didn't know what he was expecting to find, but he was here now and he knew it was too late to turn back now.

He walked into a room that was nicely furnished but very small. He saw that there was someone sitting in a chair with her back to him. When she didn't move he made his presence known. "Hello".

Bella heard a man's voice and slowly stood up. She had not had any company in such a very long time and was not used to moving very fast. She used the chair to steady herself and turned her entire body to face her visitor.

Ryan watched Isabella stand and use the chair to steady herself. He didn't know if he should offer to help, but decided against it. He knew older people were sometimes very stubborn and didn't want to have anyone help them.

He stood there and watched as she turned around. As soon as she did he saw the face of someone who had definitely been around for some time. Her face was old and wrinkled but there was one thing clear, he didn't recognize her. But he could tell by the look on her face that she recognized him.

"Ryan, is that really you?"

Ryan was speechless. How did she know his name; but then he remembered the nurse. She must have told her his name and with her advanced age she must have assumed she knew him.

"My name is Ryan; do you know who I am?"

She made her way over to him to get a better look, "Of course I know you, but seeing you now tells me one thing, which is that you were telling me the truth. I now wished I had listened to you. I'm sorry for not listening to you".

Ryan was confused by her words, "What are you talking about. Where do you know me from?"

"From the theater of course. You told me that you were from the future but I didn't believe you, but here you are now. When you told me that you would take me away I wished I had listened and gone with you".

Ryan's face went white at her admission.

"Are you ok Ryan, maybe you better sit down?" Bella tried to help him, but she was barely able to stand on her own as it was.

Ryan used the wall to make his way over to her bed. He sat down without taking his eyes off of her, "How is this possible" was all he could say.

"I don't know myself, but here you are and here I am".

When Ryan got his senses back he finally replied, "You're really Lily Van Walken then?"

"I am Ryan, but I have not used that name for a very long time now".

Ryan just kept staring and the more he looked at her the more he started to see the Lily he once knew, "what happened to you?"

"I had to leave so I faked my own death; something to which I now regret".

"But how did you do it".

Lily went on to explain how she did the whole thing. She told him that she had help from the prop masters assistance who worked there part time. He had been going to medical school and was able to get one of the dead bodies they used during school to pass as Lily's body. She had then tried her luck in New York but was never able to make a go of it. She finally ended up back in Miami after she had learned her boyfriend had died and made the best of it she could. She ended up marrying the same person who had helped her fake her death, but never had any children. She eventually ended up here after her husband passed away. She said she didn't regret what she did, but know that she knew she may have had a chance at another kind of life with Ryan she wished she had taken it.

Ryan sat with Lily for the rest of the evening and promised to come and talk with her again in the morning. He told her he was planning on staying in town for the night and would come and see her again.

As Ryan drove to the hotel he just couldn't believe anything that had just transpired back at the nursing home. He figured he would soon wake up and realized it was all a dream.

Once he was at the hotel he fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning he drove to the nursing home and saw that there was quite a lot of commotion going on in the lobby. As soon as someone saw him they came over to see what he wanted.

"Hi, can I help you with something?"

"Yeah, I'm here to see Bella Touvelle".

The nurse's face suddenly changed from the slight smile she had greeted him with to a frown, "Oh, I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, but she passed away in her sleep last night".

Ryan's face was filled with shock, "What, she died, how, what happened?"

"She was old and died of natural causes" was all the nurse could offer. She was soon called away to help fill out paperwork.

As Ryan stood there watching he saw them wheeling out a covered body on a gurney. He knew who was under then but resisted the urge to run over there and pull the sheets back. There was nothing he could do for her now. He was just glad that he had found her and learned the truth. This was something he would never be able to explain and also something he would never be able to tell anyone. No one would believe him even if he tried.

He stood there and watched them load up her body and watched as the van drove away. He knew it was time to go home, but as he was leaving the same nurse from last night was suddenly at his side.

"I'm sorry for you loss, but I'm glad I caught you before you left".

Ryan turned to her, "Thank you".

"When they found her this morning she had left something in a box addressed to her nephew Ryan. She must have known it was her last night". She handed him a small box and said, "Once again I'm sorry for you loss" before leaving.

Ryan looked at the box but did not open it up until he was sitting in his car. He stared at the box for a few minutes and then took the top off. He looked inside and found a bracelet which he pulled out and held up in front of his eyes. It was the same bracelet he had given to Lily. It was his only proof left that he was not crazy and had not imagined the whole thing. He knew he would always think of her every time he looked at it and it made him smile. He didn't know why the events that played out for him occurred and he had nothing to take away from the experience. All he had were his memories of a beautiful lady.

A few days later he attended her funeral. There were only a few people there, but it was a nice. He stayed long past the service and was there as they put her coffin into the ground. Before he left he placed four lilies on her grave and said, "I'm sorry we didn't have more time together. Perhaps we will meet in another life and under better circumstances".

Ryan walked away but glanced back toward her grave. As he looked back he could have sworn he saw Lily standing there holding her flowers and smiling at him. It was not the Lily he saw only recently, it was the Lily he remembered from his days in the theater. He closed his eyes and turned back toward his car. He wanted to look back again to see if she was still there, but he changed his mind. He wanted to remember her as she was.

THE END

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Hope you enjoyed it.


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